Services Offered » Screening Critique/Initial Content Edit » Substantive Editing » Developmental Edit » Copy Edit » Galley Proofreading » Writing Coaching What’s the difference between substantive editing, line editing, and developmental editing? Do I need a copy edit or a substantive edit? What’s a writing coach? Freelance editing can be a confusing world. The terms we use for types of editing aren’t standardized, so they can mean different things to different editors. Here is what they mean to me: Screening Critique/Initial Content Edit: Most freelance editors offer some sort of trial or sample edit. This is mine. It gives you a low-risk chance to try out my editing, and it gives me an opportunity to see if this is a project that is right for me. It also helps me to evaluate if I think you are ready for a full edit or not. If you still need to master the basics of the craft of fiction, there are many cheaper ways to do that than paying a professional editor. I prefer to work with published novelists or with writers who have some experience and skills already and are ready to approach agents or publishers about their book. This is also a good option if you need to polish up sample chapters for a contest or a book proposal. The critique will include comments made directly in the manuscript as well as a summary at the end of the manuscript. I focus on things like character development, pacing, character voice, dialogue, scene structure, point of view, showing/telling, dialogue tags and beats, narration, and writing style. The type of comments I may make are things like “Putting a flashback here really slows down the forward momentum of the story” or “You may want to consider showing the emotions of the character here instead of telling us she felt angry. Show her anger with a physical beat or by the way she speaks.” I will usually try to explain why I’m making the suggestion, and sometimes I will also give an example of what I am suggesting. These examples will rarely be as good as what you can come up with on your own, but they are intended just to get you thinking of the possibilities. At the end of the manuscript, I will summarize the main points I made during the critique, and I will address overall observations. If this is a screening critique for a possible full edit, I will let you know if I am interested in doing a full edit. Because I only do the first 5,000 words, the Screening Critique does not include feedback on the overall plot, character arcs, or basic premise of the book. It tends to be focused on line editing and not as much substantive editing.                                                                .top. Substantive Editing: Substantive Editing is the specialty of the Fiction Fix-It Shop. I firmly believe that it is the most important type of editing because it evaluates the whole scope of a story. Many writers who are hiring an editor for the first time feel that they just need a quick proofread or copy edit. However, often a manuscript has larger structural issues or problems with character development or plausibility issues that are hard for the writer to see because the writer is so familiar with the story. These larger issues are usually what keeps a manuscript from being published. An acquisitions editor or an agent will not turn down a story because the writer is weak on comma usage. They will, however, reject a novel whose climax is in the wrong place, or whose middle is sagging or meandering. This is why substantive editing is so important. You may want a Substantive Edit for the following reasons: Your manuscript has gotten good feedback from editors or agents but keeps getting rejected. You aren’t sure where to go next. You are finally ready to approach an editor or agent and want to make sure that your manuscript is as rejection-proof as possible. Your manuscript has been requested by a publisher or agent. You are scared to death and want to make the best impression possible. Your manuscript is contracted by a royalty-paying publisher and you want a fresh perspective before sending it to your editor. You want to give them the strongest manuscript possible. Published or not, you’ve received good feedback on your manuscript, but you feel dissatisfied with it and want to receive some tougher feedback that will help you grow. You want your manuscript to move from “good” to “outstanding.” You are a published author and struggling with the balancing act of having to do rewrites on the book coming out while still moving forward with the new book you’re working on. You want to try getting the substantive edit on the manuscript before sending it to your editor, so that there will be less revision work to do while you are working on the new book. I define a Substantive Edit as one that looks at the big picture of a story. When I do a substantive edit, I read the entire work through, and then I write several pages (often 10 single-spaced) discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the plot and characters. With plot, I look at overall premise, the main conflict, the flow of one scene to the next, the final climax, the resolution, and places where the story meanders away from the main plot. I also discuss any sub-plots and whether or not they are well-integrated into the story and add or detract from the main story line. With characters, I provide a detailed analysis of the main characters’ Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts, and discuss how those could be strengthened or better-utilized in the story. I also discuss how those characters fit into and enhance the plot, and give you feedback about whether or not the plot is emerging from the characters. Along with this discussion at the end of the manuscript, I include a lot of line editing with the substantive edit. The line editing is similar to what I described under the Screening Critique/Content Edit. You will have many comments made directly into the manuscript itself as well as the summary at the end of the manuscript. What I don’t do in a Substantive Edit is much copy editing. I will usually skip over punctuation, capitalization, and spelling errors. I usually also don’t do much with grammar errors or formatting mistakes. When I point out line editing issues, I will do so a few times at first, so that you understand the concept I’m going for. But then I expect that you can apply that to the rest of the manuscript and search for those issues on your own. This means that the line editing is heaviest during the first half of the manuscript, and tapers off during the second half. A substantive edit doesn’t include brainstorming or rewriting. I don’t write, rewrite, or correct your manuscript for you. You are under no obligation to accept or agree with the changes I suggest, and you are free to revise your manuscript however you feel is best. Because of the very subjective nature of editing, my suggestions and feedback may contradict other feedback you’ve received. This is normal. I make comments based on my best understanding of the craft of fiction and of current trends in fiction and based on my own writing experience. My ideas are bound to be different than other, equally qualified sources. It’s up to you to pick and choose what you apply to your novel. -- continued   Developmental Edit: I’ve had several writers contact me asking for help in developing their novel. They don’t have the manuscript finished, and they want assistance in plot development, character arcs, or in expanding a story into a series. So I created a separate service for this type of developmental editing. Developmental editing can include whatever you need to get you to the point where you’re ready to write the actual manuscript. We might brainstorm on character development (including the ever-important Goal, Motivation, and Conflict) or refining the plot. We’ll look at options for the climax and resolution, as well as how to structure the pacing to accomplish the goals you have for the book. If it’s a series idea, we’ll start with the overall scope of the series and then find ways to break it down into the number of books you want. This type of editing is almost like coaching, except I don’t help you in actual writing technique. I still require the screening critique, which means that you need to have at least 5,000 words of the manuscript written. Again, this is to make sure that you and I are a good fit to work together, and for me to evaluate if it’s a project I’m comfortable helping with. I also want to make sure that you have enough fiction writing skills to make my assistance worthwhile. Please don’t contact me with little or no writing experience and say “I just decided I want to write a novel. Will you help me?” Regretfully, I will have to decline. Developmental editing is very client-driven. My hourly fee includes any emails, phone calls, instant messages, or in-person meetings we have, as well as any work I do individually on your project. I bill in increments of five hours, which is my minimum number of hours for this type of editing. But you are welcome to specify a maximum number of hours, to suit your budget. I will work with you to come up with a schedule that fits your needs, so you can work at your own pace. This service doesn’t include any work on the actual manuscript itself, except for the initial screening critique. Once you finish the manuscript, you are welcome to contact me about a substantive edit or other type of work. It also is NOT a collaboration service. I will not help you write the manuscript, and I am not a co-author on the work. You are under no obligation to use my suggestions or to follow my advice. I’m strictly here to help you get to the point where you are ready to write your novel.               .top. Copy Edit: When writers first think about hiring a freelance editor, this is usually what they are thinking of. The problem is, this is probably the kind of editing that is least necessary for most writers to pay for. Copy Editing involves making sure that the details of a manuscript are correct. In addition to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, it also checks for errors in continuity (for example, if your heroine’s eye color changes from blue to green in chapter 10) and plausibility (did it really take only three years for the hero to get through medical school and become a neurosurgeon?). It looks for questionable research, possible trademark or copyright issues (like quotations or the use of brand names), and places in the manuscript that are just plain confusing. Sometimes, it can edge into line editing if there are sentences that are very awkward or unclear, or if there is a major error in writing technique (like the overuse of italics or a certain word pattern.) The reason most writers don’t really need to pay for copy editing is because 1) most editors and agents will overlook a couple of these sort of errors if the story itself is strong, and 2) most critique groups or even a friend with strong English skills can provide this sort of service in a normal situation. A contracted book usually goes through copy edits as well as at least one round of proofreading before it is published. It’s not usually necessary for an author to pay for this kind of editing outside of what the publisher does. You may want to consider paying for a copy edit if your story is strong but you are very weak in grammar and spelling skills and don’t have connections to anyone with the time or patience to help you with this area. You also may want to consider this service if you are a published author who has had poor in-house copy editing in the past and would like to make sure your story is not published with as many mistakes in it this time. Please note: I do not offer any services for novels being self-published.                         .top. Galley Proofreading: This option is only available to published authors. It’s hard to find the time to look over your own galleys when you have rewriting for another book, promoting for the current book, and deadlines for the new book. Galley Proofreading lets you hand off your galleys to a fresh pair of eyes for a final check of typos, continuity errors, spelling, punctuation, and other minor mistakes. These sort of errors seem to always find their way into our books despite our best efforts, but I will do my best to make sure your book is as error-free as humanly possible. Writing Coaching: Writing is a very solitary pursuit. Yet there are times that we need someone to talk to. There are terrific writers groups both locally and online that do an excellent job of meeting this need for support and professional growth. But sometimes you need more individualized assistance.                   .top. Writing coaching is for those who have a specific area of their writing in which they wish to grow. It’s for writers who have already read the how-to books, joined the writing groups, worked with critique groups, attended conferences, and taken classes, and who now want someone to give them individualized, one-on-one assistance in a certain area. It’s also for writers who, for whatever reason, don’t have the ability or opportunity to utilize these other ways of growing in their craft, and who are willing to pay for individual assistance in their writing. Coaching does not necessarily include critiquing your work, though there might be some of that involved. It is not the same as editing or brainstorming. You come to me with a specific objective in mind, such as “I want to improve my character development by giving each character a distinct voice.” Or perhaps you only know you want to improve your character development. I can help you narrow that down to a reachable goal. Then we work together to help you meet that goal. I prefer to use a combination of email and real-time conversation such as phone calls, online voice chat, or even instant message (though it’s slower than voice-based chatting.) We’ll discuss the concept you are working on, and I’ll share with you what I know and what other experienced writers and editors have to say about it, and I might recommend other resources for you to study. I will also give you suggestions for ways to improve in your area and create steps for you to reach your goal. After the coaching session, you are free to implement these suggestions, and email me for additional support. At the next session, we discuss your progress and where to go next. As a writing coach, I’m not here to be “the expert.” There’s much to the craft of writing that I still need to learn, too. In that sense, it’s not a mentoring service either. My job as a coach is to help you identify the steps you need to take to reach your goal and to support you along the way with as many resources and as much information as I have. I’m here to help you tap into your own creative instincts and apply the knowledge you already have to your work.           .top. --------------------------------------- Find out how you can earn a full Substantive Edit: FFS Referral Program